CEA SERIN

One of the best things about being a reviewer is that I’m constantly exposed to new bands.  Sometimes it happens that a band is a few albums in before they make it onto my radar so I play a lot of catch up on these newer musicians.  CEA SERIN is one of my recent “finds” and they are exactly kind of music that really gets me going.  A mix of prog metal with cinematic undertones along with the occasional death metal vocals makes “The World Outside” a unique listening experience.  Founded in late 90s by Jay Lamm, he writes and performs almost everything aside from drums which are handled by longtime bandmate Rory Faciane. I was lucky to ask Jay some questions about the songwriting, influences, touring, etc and I was struck by how thoughtful and open he was in discussing his musical journey.  Let’s get started:

WORMWOOD CHRONICLES: I love the new album “The World Outside” and it has been over ten years since your last record.  Why the delay in releasing new material?

JAY LAMM: Thank you.  I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the album.  The lengthy delay between not only this new album but between the first and second are the same.  It was very difficult getting the guitarist to record his tracks.  It was a huge chore to get him to record just the rhythm guitar tracks for the second album, but for the new album I couldn’t even get him to do that.  He ended up recording some rhythm tracks for the first song and second song but they weren’t correct in some places and I couldn’t get him to go back and re-record certain sections.  

I really wanted the band to have the same members for as long as possible and I did really enjoy recording with him when we were, in fact, recording.  However, just being able to get him to record became an insurmountable task. 

I told him I was going to finish the rhythm guitar tracks myself if he could go ahead and do the lead guitar solos.  When I was done with all the rhythm guitars, I couldn’t get him to actually record any leads.  He ended up recording some for the first and second song but I could tell his heart wasn’t into it.  He kept putting things off and coming up with excuses and I kept giving him chance after chance. 

So, ultimately, I would always say the issues were 50/50 him and me.  Half the blame goes to our former guitarist just not having the motivation to record and the other half was me actually putting up with it for far too long.

WC: I’m new to the band and was blown away by the material.  Can you give a little background on how CEA SERIN came about?

JL: I was in a progressive metal band back in the mid-90s called ASHEN DAWN.  When that group couldn’t find a singer and didn’t like the heavier direction I wanted to go, I decided to branch out and start a project up on my own.  I used a drum machine and wrote some songs.  Keith Warman—guitarist for ASHEN DAWN—heard these songs and wanted to put together a demo tape. 

This demo was sent out to magazines and labels to see what they had to say about it.  We ended up getting some decent responses and attention.  For the following years, we recorded a couple of other demos until finally getting some offers to do a proper album. 

For a long time we used a drum machine simply because we never could find a drummer in our area.  Eventually, after the first album came out, we were able to find Rory Faciane to join up with us.  We had played live off and on over the years and had live band members come and go, but the core of the band was always Keith Warman on guitar, Rory Faciane on drums, and me doing the rest.  And, going back to the first question, Keith is no longer with us, so it’s really just Rory and myself now.

WC: In the tradition of prog metal, your band name is very unique.  What does it mean and how did you decide on the name?

JL: When coming up with a band name, I wanted something that sounded unique, that only real fans of the band would know how to pronounce, and when entered into an internet search engine would only come back with results for the actual band.

The first demo of CEA SERIN was back around 1997.  So, this was when the internet was really first becoming widely available to people in their homes.  I knew that searching for things online would be the next thing, so I wanted a very unique name that wouldn’t come back with results for other things, products, companies, etc.

The sound of the words “cea serin” just came to me and so I spelled it out in my own way.  I didn’t want some random words picked out of a dictionary or names chosen from my favorite book.  I wanted something very much my own.  So, just like you have your own name and I have my own name that represents me, the band name was formulated to suit what we are about and how we sound.

WC: Your songs definitely have a cinematic feel but at the same time rooted in these great guitar focused riffs.  Was that a conscious effort or was that just a natural progression of the music you write?

JL: There are a few things I really love when it comes to music: cool riffs, guitar solos, and catchy choruses.  I love riffs.  Love ‘em, love ‘em, love ‘em.  I was particularly drawn to the Gotethenburg melodic death metal sound of AT THE GATES, DARK TRANQUILITY, and IN FLAMES as well as some stuff by CARCASS.  But I also started off on the piano at an early age.  So, I had a background in piano music as well as a love for melodic but heavy metal. 

I also have a huge love for movies as well.  I’ll check out movies just because a certain composer or cinematographer is on it.  I think the “cinematic” quality might come from how I choose to add in keyboards.  My approach to keyboards is that of “what would a keyboardist NOT want to do right here” kind of approach.  I think a lot of the things I do on keyboards might be very boring for a keyboardist to play because I’m creating these washes of sound and atmosphere.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some very involved parts here and there, but I do like adding these subtle atmospheric keyboard parts that might bore a regular keyboardist but gives the heavy music this sense of space and depth.

WC: Do you find it difficult to write and preform all of the music, aside from drums?  And do you feel that working with more of a band setting would dilute your vision for CEA SERIN?

JL: Not really.  It’s kind of what I’ve always done.  I never liked writing songs with other people though.  Especially lyrics.  I can’t collaborate on lyrics with other people.  I’m very particular about certain words and how lyrics are done. 

I do leave room for interpretation and personal style to shine though.  Like, when I send Rory the songs with the drum machine, I tell him to do whatever he wants.  The drum machine should be a blueprint for the structure of the song, and he shouldn’t add or take away from it to suit his personal style and taste.  Same goes for guitar solos.  When I was reaching out to guitarists to add solos to the album, I told them to do whatever they wanted to do.  I had some direction I wanted to give because there were some parts where I wanted the guitar solo to either begin or end with a certain musical motif to connect it to another part, but aside from that, they’re free to do what they want.

But when it comes to writing songs, I don’t ever collaborate.  It’s just that I’d rather write in private and take a lot of time to listen back to what I’ve been working on and change things here and there.  I can hear the whole thing in my head so I’d just rather do all the stuff myself at this point. 

WC: Most of your compositions are longer but I’ve looked at your back catalogue and you do have some shorter songs.  How do you know when a song is done and you can’t add any more to it?

JL: Well, I do like the longer song format because I like to expand on the existing ideas that constitute the song: the verse, pre-chorus, chorus, etc.  I also wanted each song on this album to sound like an album unto itself. 

But a song is kind of like a story.  You know the story is done when you’ve told everything you want to tell that is pertinent to the tale and then it naturally wraps up by its own volition.

WC: Who are your main influences?

JL: My earliest influences were the guitar heroes from back when I was a kid.  You’ve got your JOE SATRIANI and STEVE VAI.  Even though I was primarily a bass player when I was growing up, I still was very much attracted to the music of guitar heroes.  I loved all the Shrapnel Records albums that were putting out.  Stuff like CACAPHONY and APOCRYPHA were big for me.  I eventually got into stuff like MEGADETH, LORD BANE, and DREAM THEATER.  Later on, I would get into things like CARCASS and AT THE GATES.  The whole time though I always had a love for more ethereal and piano-focused things YANNI and Ludovico Einaudi.

WC: Are there any bands you’re into that might surprise your fans?

JL: Hmmm, that would surprise people?  I’m not sure what would surprise people.  I’ve always talked about my love and appreciation for the albums of Sarah MacLachlan but I’ve also listened to other things in that genre of piano-driven music like Casey Stratton and Vanessa Carlton.  There are a few heavier bands that might surprise people.  Stuff like KAUAN, AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS, BRUTUS.  I recently started getting into albums being put out on this record label called Gondwana Records.  Stuff by musicians like Matthew Halsall and Hania Rani, for example. There’s some post-rock stuff that’s also really cool.  Things like YNDI HALDA, GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT, and maybe even BLACKSHAPE.

WC: Was there a defining moment that made you decide that you wanted to be involved with creating music?

JL: Sure, so before I mentioned how movies were an important part of my life. Well, the first time I saw “Evil Dead 2” probably is what was most instrumental into setting me down the path of wanting to play music.  When I saw that movie, I wanted to be Ash.  I thought his character was so cool and I wanted to fight demons with a chainsaw for a hand.  Just a great movie, right?  Well, in that movie, he plays piano for his girlfriend right towards the beginning.  I remember being captivated by that piano piece. It just sounded so cool.  And then, that same piece was brought back towards the middle of the movie but in a very different context. 

After I saw that movie, I wanted to take piano lessons.

WC: What are your touring plans?

JL: Sorry to say, but right now there are no touring plans.  We’re a very small band and only two members at this point.  There’s been some talk of going over to Europe for a festival but I’m not sure if I can afford to do that right now.

WC: Is there any particular band that you’d love to hit the road with?

JL: I often think of this and try to think of bands that I not only like but would also be appropriate to pair us up with.  Because I’d love to say RISE TO FALL cause I’m really into that band right now. But would that be a good pairing? 

Generation Prog Records just signed with THE RETICENT and I think that band would be a good pairing with us.

Personally, I’d love to tour with someone like FATES WARNING.  Some band that is very much established and that could help introduce us to a wider audience.